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Aboriginal Co-operatives in Canada - Centre for the Study of Co ...

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A B O R I G I N A L C O - O P E R A T I V E S I N C A N A D A ~<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation <strong>in</strong> First Nation communities by <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> type <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>mation, feedback,research, and tools available. 8<strong>Aborig<strong>in</strong>al</strong> leaders have also emphasized <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> broad approaches to development,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g concerns <strong>for</strong> governance, culture, spirituality, education, tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, community heal<strong>in</strong>g,social development, and resource cultivation. Many Arctic regions are now <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> “postland-claimera” and are wrestl<strong>in</strong>g with <strong>the</strong> challenge <strong>of</strong> creat<strong>in</strong>g susta<strong>in</strong>able economic development.Nunavut represents a remarkable experiment <strong>in</strong> develop<strong>in</strong>g economic self-sufficiency<strong>in</strong> a way that <strong>in</strong>corporates “Inuit cultural values <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> many new bus<strong>in</strong>esses which will <strong>for</strong>m<strong>the</strong> backbone <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> emerg<strong>in</strong>g economy.” The vision is perhaps captured best <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> objectives<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Canadian Inuit Bus<strong>in</strong>ess Development <strong>Co</strong>uncil, established <strong>in</strong> 1994:• to organize <strong>the</strong> members <strong>in</strong>to a co-operative network to promote economicdevelopment and self-sufficiency <strong>in</strong> Inuit regions and communities;• to develop economic co-operation, trade, and bus<strong>in</strong>ess, not just <strong>in</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> but<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> circumpolar world; and• to promote Inuit employment and tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g opportunities <strong>in</strong> co-operative economicventures and activities undertaken by Inuit communities, organizations, or o<strong>the</strong>rgroups. 9Innovative economic and social development strategies, such as <strong>the</strong> approach <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Creecommunity <strong>of</strong> Ouje-Bougoumou, located <strong>in</strong> Abitibi, provide ano<strong>the</strong>r model <strong>of</strong> developmentrooted <strong>in</strong> community needs. Expelled from <strong>the</strong>ir land and marg<strong>in</strong>alized from political andeconomic life, <strong>the</strong> residents <strong>of</strong> Ouje-Bougoumou have developed <strong>the</strong>ir community with an eyeto self-determ<strong>in</strong>ation. In twenty years, <strong>the</strong>y have rebuilt <strong>the</strong> village us<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> local work<strong>for</strong>ceand established a series <strong>of</strong> public and community services (health service, youth centre,seniors’ residence, daycare, school, and cultural centre). The development model, while notspecifically a co-operative, is exclusively community-based, similar to <strong>the</strong> kibbutz model <strong>of</strong>Israel.Report <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Royal <strong>Co</strong>mmission on <strong>Aborig<strong>in</strong>al</strong> PeoplesOne <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most recent reveal<strong>in</strong>g general enquiries <strong>in</strong>to <strong>Aborig<strong>in</strong>al</strong> economic development is<strong>the</strong> Report <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Royal <strong>Co</strong>mmission on <strong>Aborig<strong>in</strong>al</strong> Peoples (RCAP). The report identified that<strong>the</strong>re will be a need <strong>for</strong> more than three hundred thousand new jobs <strong>for</strong> <strong>Aborig<strong>in</strong>al</strong> peoples by<strong>the</strong> year 2016, a truly <strong>in</strong>timidat<strong>in</strong>g challenge given <strong>the</strong> limited opportunities currently apparent<strong>in</strong> many <strong>Aborig<strong>in</strong>al</strong> communities.8 http:/wwwafn.ca/afnenglish/eco_development_secretariat.htm9 “Build<strong>in</strong>g a Susta<strong>in</strong>able Future,” Inuits <strong>of</strong> <strong>Canada</strong> wep page, Inuit Tapirisat web site, (http://www.tapirisat.ca),January, 2001.20 ~ H A M M O N D K E T I L S O N / M A C P H E R S O N

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